Iron-Blooded Soldier
by Swift of Briarmoor
Summary: My idea of what season 3 of Iron Bloodied Orphans might of been like. Certain characters are alive.


Iron Bloodied Soldier

Ch 1: Prisoner of War

Rustal Elion patiently waited as a security force painstakingly unlocked an imposing door in the secure wing of T836 base, officially a Gjallarhorn Military Mining Facility. Unofficially, it was Gjallarhorn's top MS training facility and Alaya-Vijnana System experimentation center.

After a moment the security finished with the locks and the door hissed open to reveal the viewing side of what appeared to be cross between isolation room and a solitary confinement cell. The cell itself contained the minimum of furnishing, a metal bed, a sink-toilet-water fountain unit, a rolling cart with some sort of electrical equipment, and a immovable concrete desk and chair.

Despite its obviously utilitarian qualities, the room was not entirely lifeless. The walls were painted a cheery periwinkle, the furnishings a warm yellow and there were some personal effects, a worn tablet on the desk and a dozen photos taped on the left wall, but there were no one windows, only the bulletproof viewing glass of the visitor's ante room.

'The perfect habitat for mankind's most valuable asset' Elion thought himself, noting the addition of last month's photo to the every growing collection on the wall. It was a particularly beautiful shot featuring a young mother laughing at her son who appeared to have somehow managed to tip an entire bucket of chicken feed over himself, thus earning him the honor being the roost of the feed's intended recipients.

'Or the perfect cage for the world's most human monster.' Elion reconsidered as the room's occupant noted his examination of photo and sent him a warning glare.

Ignoring an inward shiver, Elion meet the his weapon's blue-eyed gleam with a pleasant smile.

"Mikazuki," he greeted taking a seat in one the viewing room's semi-comfortable chairs.

"Commander Elion." Mikazuki responded rising from where he'd being doing a handstand pushups against the wall. He walked foreword, pausing to put on a low backed black tank-top, before casualing leaning against the wall, a position that allowed him to keep an eye on his visitor.

Elion took advantage of the delay to fully examine his prisoner. He barely resembled the baby-faced child soldier he'd been when Julieta pulled his seemingly dead body from Barbatos' ruins all those years ago.

He was considerably taller, pushing 5'9" instead the 5'4" he'd once stood at. His face was more angular. His hair no longer resembled a bird's nest, but was cut short, in a somewhat spiky version of the regulation military haircut.

His muscle tone had improved or rather become more specialized. A personalized exercise routine had given him that particular lethal build that only the best MS pilots developed, a physiology made for enduring extreme G-forces and crippling battle fatigue.

Even his Alaya-Vijnana System had been improved, with the addition of a fourth and fifth implant to the original three. Mikazuki shifted irritability, hiding the spiky protrusions the connection ports left on his spine when Elion's calculated stare lingered for too long.

Smiling a brief flash of amusement at Mikazuki's discomfort, Elion deciding to begin the conversation proper, before his little wolf became truly hostile. Not that the boy could actually do anything, but he was aiming for a true discussion this afternoon, rather than the terse comments and frosty silence he received when the lad was in a particularly foul mood.

"The vote for Human Debris Abolishment Treaty finished today." Those who did know Mikazuki's history might interpret his lack of response as ignorance or apathy, but Elion knew better.

The boy was simply ruthlessly practical. Unlike his visionary former compatriots whose focus on unattainable dreams had lead to revolution of the previous system and the direct creation of the Martian Union, Mikazuki tended to accept circumstances as they were, exploiting any opportunity with a savage cunning that belie his aloof and seemingly unintellegent personality.

"The Treaty passed with all, but the third of Miss Bernstein's amendments attached," Elion paused watching carefully for Mikazuki's response to name of his former sweetheart (lover?). Elion's spies had never be able to confirm the true nature of the two's relationship, seemingly flummoxed by the addition of his first wife(?) and son and the fact that two women chose to cohabitate together despite Mikazuki's apparent death.

Mikazuki himself was not forthcoming on the details of the relationship and tended to become downright bloodthirsty if anyone so much as mentioned any member of his little family or former Tekkadan brother-in-arms. Written news, however, was the exception as Mikazuki not only accepted information regarding family and friends (mostly carefully selected portions of Elion's spie's reports), but sought it out.

He obsessively collected newspaper reports about, Teiwaz, Kudelia, and the Oceana Federation to point that if a random stranger examined his tablet (originally intended solefully training purposes), they would more likely assume it belonged to a Private Investigator than a MS pilot.

True to form, Mikazuki flinched upon hearing Miss Bernstein's name in his enemy's mouth. (Elion had no illusions that Mikazuki considered him anything other than the enemy. He was after all a prisoner.) He said nothing, however, and Elion interpreted the silence for permission to continue the currently one-sided conversation.

He began explaining the particulars of the treaty and what the parties involved hoped to accomplish with it. He had repeated the explanations so many times during the last month his mind started to drift as he talked.

'Maybe the boy is finally learning to control that temper.' Elion hoped thinking of Mikazuki's shocking ability to alienate foe and potential ally alike with a single word. The thought lead him to once again wishing more of his Miss Bernstein's savvy rubbed off.

'On the other hand she's nearly as bad a headache herself.' He admitted imagining the blonde haired politician standing before him that polite smile on her face that did nothing to quench the fire in her eyes.

"Treatment of human debris should improve." Elion said finally concluding his speech and reaching the purpose for the day's visit.

He wanted an outside opinion, a truly accurate prediction of the effects the new legislation would have.

Mikazuki's history and talent for unbiased analysis made him the perfect prophet, if only he would cooperate. Hopefully, Kudelia's involvement would be motivation enough.

Fortune favored him it seemed. Mikazuki's eyes unfocused and his expression turned calculating, eerily so.

Elion wondered yet again, if Mikazuki could use a Gundam Frame's AI to analyze data outside of battle.

After a minute of inward contemplation, he looked up and gave Elion an apathetic shrug.

Elion slumped slightly with disappointment. By Mikazuki's estimation, the treaty would do little to actually improve the lives of the young men they'd aimed to help.

What had he and the other legal parties had overlooked? Elion pondered. What possible solution had they missed? He was surprised by his own refusal to let the matter die.

He was a villain, was he not? A man who sacrificed thousands, if not millions in the name of peace and order. Such pertinacity was unbefitting, yet he could not deny his deep desire to improve a situation that only a few years he would have been content to ignore.

What drove this sudden illogical turn of mind?

'Guilt,' he realized. Guilt for the dead and the living, for the men, women, and children who suffered because power was a dirty business CEO-ed by the most unsavory of characters, himself included.

He supposed there were only so many corpses one man could bury before a bit conscience crept in. Best to indulge the fancy lest true sentimentality take root.

'So the treaty would not be enough, what more needed to be done?'

He glanced at Mikazuki, unconsciously seeking a clue to the conundrum and the realization of what he missed hit him like a shot of adrenaline.

Bigotry.

Three years, his staff had worked with Mikazuki. They had seen him eat, sleep, and bleed, seen him work until he collapsed, seen his eyes soften when he looked at one of his photos, and seen him raise his fists when he was angry. Still they whispered. "Akuma (Devil), the Devil of Tekkadan," they called him.

Mikazuki wasn't human. Would never be human in their minds, no matter how many acts of humanity he performed.

'Devil. Human Debris. Monster. Trash. Different names, but they same underlying meaning, Not one us. '

Elion could change the legalities of the situation, but could do nothing to change the attitudes that perpetuate the system.

'Miss Berestein will not be pleased.' Elion thought.

No, she would be far from pleased. She would be on the warpath. Elion decided, resisting the urge to groan. Already, he could foresee the long campaign for "Improving the Lives of Space's Downtrodden Orphans" or some equally insufferably idealistic slogan aimed at the winning the hearts and minds of the people one speech at time.

Undoubtedly, she would _insist_ he join her, dragging him from location to location until he could honestly say he'd visited every little nameless spaceport and impoverished village in the entirety of the occupied solar system.

'Then again if there ever were a politician who words could change the hearts and minds of the people for the better it would be The Maiden of Revolution.' Elion thought, reminiscing about the fiery young blonde and the eloquent defense for the boy she'd loved and lost.

"She mentioned you," Elion commented to Mikazuki, "Your Kudelia, I mean." He was so caught up in his thoughts, he did not pause to consider the effect his words might have on her not dead boyfriend.

Alarming would have been a good description.

Mikazuki's change from casual observer to rage induced berserker was so fast it took a full five seconds for the security team to respond, by which point he'd managed to bloody both fists and create an actual crack in the bulletproof glass right where Elion's face had been.

Luckily for Elion, subduing Mikazuki did not require anything so elaborate as a team heavily armed guards.

A simple flick of a switch and Mikazuki slumped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Paralysis. All power has its cost and evidently this was price for Lupis Rex. Without a connection to a Gundam Frame or equivalent AI, Mikazuki was frozen, trapped in a body that could not see, speak, or move beyond the beat of a heart and the slow inhale/exhale pattern of a sleepy lungs.

'So much for controlling his temper,' Elion thought with a wince, watching as a team of medical professionals burst through the door and into the cell to treat his would be assailant.

By itself, his condition was not life-threatening, but there was always a risk of injury from the fall and his hands needed bandaging.

Two guards lifted Mikazuki onto the bed. Per procedure, they'd left Mikazuki paralyzed for treatment. He was an uncooperative patient when given the opportunity. Unsurprising really, considering how few of his 'check-ups' had truly been for _his_ wellbeing.

Once arranged on his side, a doctor came forward to look for signs of a concussion, as a nurse placed a small pulse ox meter on his to measure vital signs.

After a careful examination of his head, limbs, and connection ports, the doctor nodded to Elion confirming Mikazuki's good health and stepped aside, allowing Elion to finish his interrogation of her patient before the long process of cleaning his hands began.

Elion stepped forward knowing that while Mikazuki couldn't exactly see him, he could tell when someone blocked the light in front of him. Between that and the fact that his hearing was completely unaffected by his condition, he would recognize exactly where Elion was standing.

"I suppose we should consider that my faux pas." Elion said. A small beep emitted from the machine corner indicating an increase in heart rate and revealing exactly how dissatisfactory Mikazuki found Elion's apology.

"But really, you must learn to be less sensitive about these things," Elion added, another beep indicating Mikazuki's growing anger level.

The staff twittered nervously. There was no logical reason behind their fear. Current security measures made it physically impossible for Mikazuki to regain mobility without outside interference.

"Truly, you can't go hitting things anytime the topic of your family or Tekkadan comes up." Elion didn't need to hear the additional pings that statement proceeded. Mikazuki visibly shook, his breathing shallow from its speed. Mikazuki was no longer angry, he was _rabid._

Security reached for their guns and the medical team appeared frantic torn between their desire to check on their patient and their need to be out of arm's reach _just in case_. Evidently, Mikazuki was a force terrifying enough to not only cloud the wits of stolid soldiers, but cause a team of elite medical professionals to forget basic anatomy.

'Ridicolous.'

"Not every of mention your family is meant to be threat their welfare." Elion's continued, his voice stern, chastising both Mikazuki for his temper and his staff for their lack of professionalism. "Sometimes they are merely relevant outside of their relationship to you."

His staff recognized the warning tone and visibly collected themselves or at least attempted to, but Mikazuki either wasn't listening or was too lost in emotion to understand the words. His heart rate continued to spike. His breathe bordered on hyperventilating.

Elion considered ordering a sedative, but one of the low level nursing assistants spoke up. Elion was surprised. She was skittish creature, so obviously nervous and out of place, he'd barely given her a second glance.

He certainly hadn't expected her to be the brave one of the group.

He was even more surprised when he realized what she said or rather who said it to.

"Mr. Mikazuki. Please," she pleaded her voice so low it was only the quiet of the room that allowed it to carry. "Please, calm down. You're scaring everybody."

For a moment nothing happened, then slowly Mikazuki's breathing steadied and his heart rate returned to normal. Oh, he was still angry. No, doubt about that, but it was a cold anger, patient and most importantly intelligent, willing to listen to logic and reason.

"That's our little beast tamer!" One of the guards exclaimed and gave the shy nurse a slap on the back. She squeaked in protest and mumbled something that sounded like a cross between "I didn't do anything" and "Please don't call Mr. Mikazuki that."

The medical team ignored her comments, the more enthusiastic offering vague compliments while the more reserved gave her polite smiles. She fidgeted unhappily, wringing her hands and comically opening and closing her mouth like she wanted to protest, but couldn't figure which person to respond to first.

'Beast tamer, indeed.' Elion thought, making a mental note to look into the girl's history when this little meeting was done.

He coughed politely reminding the staff that they were still in the middle of Mikazuki's cell with business to complete. Satisfied they looked appropriately abashed and perhaps slightly terrified Mikazuki had heard them, Elion continued his tirade.

"As I was saying, I meant no threat when I mentioned Miss Bernstein. To my knowledge, she remains ignorant of your condition and assuming your continued cooperation safe from me. I merely meant to pass on few words, a memoriam to your grave so to speak. She said that your comrades fought circumstances head on and died a noble death. She hopes she lives up to your expectations."

There was a poignant silence in the room, interrupted only by a small hitch in Mikazuki's breathe, dramatic as a loud sob from the stoic boy. Elion allowed him a moment to grieve.

"An impressive woman," Elion acknowledged and smiled slightly as the boy instantly recovered, ever the battle-hardened soldier. "I think that's enough for one visit, but Mikazuki," Elion's voice turned gravely serious, "remember war's coming and when it arrives it won't be me your family needs to fear."

He turned around, smiling enigmatically at the staff who appeared baffled by his last comment. He nodded for them to continue Mikazuki's treatment and walked out the door, his mind already on the next item of business on his agenda.


End file.
